Dexter Season 3 (Breygent Marketing)

In late 2010, Breygent Marketing finally issued its second set based on the Showtime original program Dexter. Dexter Season 3 follows the very successful Dexter Seasons 1 and 2 set issued in 2008. I previewed the set here and was very open about my excitement for the set. And it did not disappoint.

While my cards from the previous Dexter set fell victim to the great Pre-Mid-Ohio Con sell off of 2008, this set will firmly hold it's place in my personal collection. I went all out and purchased a case of the product. Each case holds 12 boxes. Each box holds 24 packs. Each pack holds 6 cards. With all the premium inserts available for just 3,000 total boxes, each box was guaranteed to hold 3 premium inserts from the following: costume cards, prop cards, autographed cards and autographed costume cards. Also, each case included one case-topper Metallogloss card depicting a piece of original art and an original sketch card.

Now to the cards:

Base Cards

The base cards for this set are typical for a set based on a television show or movie. Each card (with the exception of the first) has an image in landscape orientation from one of the season's episodes. The base set includes 72 cards. At the bottom of each card is what appears to be a smear of blood along the entire length of the card. On the bottom left of each card is the Dexter logo with "THE THIRD SEASON" below it. The backs of the cards, also in landscape orientation, show a small pool of blood in the upper left corner with the Dexter logo and "THE THIRD SEASON COLLECTOR CARDS" below it. Other drops of blood are scattered throughout the back of the card. In the upper right corner is a small blood spatter with the card number in the center. In the lower left is an image of a bloody knife, while the Breygent logo resides in the lower right corner. In the body of the card, there is an extensive description of the story that corresponds with the image on the front side. I love this about the Dexter cards. Some sets have minimal description or none at all, so this shows a nice commitment from the company.

Base Card Front - Card #2

Base Card Back - Card #3

Foil Inserts

Dexter Season 3 has three insert sets: a 9-card puzzle set, a 9-card victims set and a 10-card quotes set.

9-Card Puzzle Set
The foil puzzle cards when placed together (or in a 9-card page) complete an image of 6 of the show's main characters. Of course, Dexter is in the front, while Vince Masuka (played by C.S. Lee), Lt. Maria LaGuerta (played by Lauren Velez), Sergeant Angel Batista (played by David Zayas), Rita Bennett (played by Julie Benz) and Detective Debra Morgan (played by Jennifer Carpenter) fill out the scene. Oh, and don't forget the nameless victim lying on the table in the middle of the image.

9-Card Puzzle Insert Set

Looking at the overall image, it is evident that there are two main cast regulars who are not depicted in this scene: Harry Morgan (father of Dexter and Debra, played by James Remar) and Detective Joey Quinn (played by Desmond Harrington). I'm not sure why these two were not included, however, the backs of the puzzle cards profile nine of the key cast members from season 3. The other one missing is Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (played by Jimmy Smits).

Regarding the missing cast members from the image, further investigation turned up the complete image of the cast of which only a part was used for the puzzle. I'm guessing it was cropped to better fit the dimensions of the 3x3 set of cards. The larger image is used as the background for the 7-swatch case incentive costume card. In that image, to the left of Vince Masuka is Harry Morgan. However, Joey Quinn is still absent from the group shot. Not sure why...

7-Swatch Costume Card - Case Incentive

9-Card Victims Set
Each card in this set shows a scene from season 3 that is connected to one of the deaths of Dexter's victims. The front is foil and has an oval blood spatter pattern with the image from the scene in question residing in the middle. The card back outlines the story that leads up to the death of Dexter's victims.

9-Card Victims Set Card Front - Card #1

9-Card Victims Set Card Back - Card #2

10-Card Quotes Set
This foil set starts with four cards highlighting four characters: Dexter, Masuka, Batista and Harry. Each card has a profile image of one of those characters and the back highlights some of that characters best quotes from the season. The remaining six cards depict a scene from season 3 and the card back has a conversation connected to the highlighted scene. The card fronts also have bloody smears and bloody hands along the edges.

10-Card Quotes Set Front - Card #1

There is an error in this insert set. On the card front, as seen above, there is the Dexter logo in the lower left corner. On cards #2 and #3, there also is a smaller version of the show's logo in the upper right corner.

10-Card Quotes Set Error Front - Card #2

Premium Inserts

This set also includes 6 different premium inserts: sketches, metallogloss case toppers, autographed cards, autographed costume cards, prop cards and costume cards. These inserts (with the exception of the sketches and case toppers) are distributed three per box for a total of 36 per case.

Sketches and Metallogloss Case Toppers
The sketch cards and metallogloss case toppers come one per case.

Sketch Card by Brian Kong

Metallogloss Case Topper w/art by Len Bellinger

The metallogloss cards are like the ones that Breygent introduced earlier in 2010 with the special inserts sold in the San Diego Comic Con Mystery Packs. This is certainly an interesting way to present the cards and provides a nice collectible in a way that is different than a normal card. In my opinion, many of the case toppers produced by Artbox are nicer ("crystal," metal or wooden cards).

Autographed Cards
There are 5 possible autographed cards: Jimmy Smits, James Remar, Michael C. Hall, Michael C. Hall-Jimmy Smits dual, and a Michael C. Hall-Julie Benz dual. Each of the cards includes an image of the character with space for the autograph. Some were autographed in red ink and some in black ink.

James Remar Autographed Card

Autographed Costume Cards
There are 6 possible autographed costume cards: Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Jennifer Carpenter, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Velez and Julie Benz. Each of the cards is similar to the auto-only cards except there is a costume swatch in between the image of the character and the space for the autograph. What is nice about these cards is that an image of the article of clothing from which the swatch is taken appears on the back of the card, and on many of the cards, the image of the character shows that character actually wearing that article of clothing.

Desmond Harrington Autographed Costume Card

Prop Cards
This set includes 11 different prop cards that have pieces of actual props used in the show. Like the autographed costumes cards, the image on the back of the card is of the actual prop the piece is from and the front of the card includes an image of the prop as it was used in the show.

Bloody Framed Photograph - Prop Card #3

Costume Cards
There are 29 possible costume cards, 27 of which are dual costumes. The other two include a 4-swatch costume card and an 8-swatch costume card. Of the dual costume cards, 23 include 2 different clothing swatches from a single character. The characters portrayed are Rita Bennett (4 different), Lt. Maria LaGuerta (3), Sergeant Angel Batista (2), Detective Debra Morgan (6), Dexter Morgan (5), Vince Masuka (2) and Detective Joey Quinn (1). The other 4 dual cards include costume swatches from two different characters: Dexter and Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado, Rita and Dexter, LaGuerta and Prado, and Debra and Joey. As with the other premium inserts, the backs show an image of the actual piece of clothing the swatch is from and most of the fronts depict the characters wearing that piece of clothing. The 8-swatch costume card includes a swatch of clothing from the eight prime characters of the show, while the 4-swatch costume card includes swatches from Debra, Angel, Dexter and Vince.

Rita Bennett Costume Card - Card #7

8-Swatch Costume Card - Card #29

4-Swatch Costume Card - Card #28

There is one mistake in this set of premium inserts. On the dual costumes, at the top of the card is the show's logo and at the bottom is the Breygent logo. The words "AUTHENTIC WARDROBE MATERIAL WORN BY" followed by the names of the characters whose costumes were used for the card also are at the bottom of the card. These words are missing from the Debra/Joey dual costume card.

Debra Morgan/Joey Quinn Costume Card - Card #27

Collation

Base Sets
This case (12 boxes) produced 21 complete base sets of 72 cards for an average of 1.75 sets per box. There are 106 extras.

Foil Inserts

• Puzzle: the 9-card puzzle insert cards are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 2 complete puzzles and 6 extras for the expected total of 24 cards.
• Victims: the 9-card victims insert set are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 1 complete victims set and 15 extras for the expected total of 24 cards. Of the remaining cards, only 1 was needed to make a second complete set.
• Quotes: the 10-card quotes insert set are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 2 complete quotes sets and 5 extras for 1 more than the expected total of 24 cards.

Premium Inserts

• Sketches and Metallogloss Case Toppers: these cards are inserted 1 per case. This case produced 1 of each as expected.
• Autographed Cards (including Autographed Costume Cards): autographed cards are inserted at 1 per 48 packs (0.5 per box, 6 per case). This case produced 3 autographed cards and 3 autographed costume cards for the expected total of 6 cards. There is one double, the Jimmy Smits autograph, but they were different in that one is signed in red ink and the other in black ink. In addition to Smits, this case included the James Remar autograph, the Desmond Harrington autographed costume, the C.S. Lee autographed costume and the Lauren Velez autographed costume. I also purchased singles of the Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall autographed costumes off e-Bay.
• Prop Cards and Costume Cards: these cards are inserted 1 per 10 packs (2.4 per box, 28.8 per case). This case produced 5 prop cards and 25 dual costume cards, for a total of 30 prop and costume cards (slightly more than the average). There are no doubles in these cards, and the case was only 6 prop cards and 4 costume cards shy of a complete set. I also purchased a single of the 8-swatch costume card from e-Bay.

Final Thoughts

This is a great set and provided a superb collation. Every card possible based on the odds is present and of the premium inserts there was only 1 double, making the case a very positive purchase. The base cards are typical of TV/movie sets but have extensive descriptions of the show and the depicted scenes. The design is nice and Breygent found a number of different ways to "smear" the design with images of blood. Of the foil sets, I really liked the puzzle. With the larger image on the front, it is nice to have detailed information about each of the main characters provided on the back. While I did not receive autographs of the big three (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter and Julie Benz) in my case, the fact that Breygent was able to secure those autographs as part of the set makes it more desirable. And getting three different types of autographed cards from Hall just adds much more value. Also, the inclusion of 27 dual costumes increases the overall number of different swatches available to collectors.


Grades

Base set: A
Foil Inserts: A
Premium Inserts: A+

Back to the Blog

If you follow this blog at all, you've noticed I haven't updated in awhile. Since my last post, about artist Danielle Soloud, I've acquired a number of new pieces of art and quite a few new sets of non-sport trading cards. So, I'm very backed up. The next post here will be my review of the Dexter Season 3 set issued by Breygent Marketing in late 2010. What will follow will be a number of posts playing catch-up on the non-sport sets I have, followed by a handful of blogs about my commissioned art.

Now that I'm back, hope you enjoy the reviews.

Artist Danielle Soloud

As I've mentioned before, about a year and a half ago I was introduced to the hobby of collecting sketch cards. That introduction and subsequent increase in interest on my part in the hobby led me to coming across a wide array of artists I otherwise would never have learned about. One of the first artists I came across was Danielle Soloud.

Upon visiting her website (www.daniellesoloud.com), I was hooked. Danielle has this adorable style but is not shy about drawing the pinup. As a matter of fact, I believe the pinups she does are actually some of the better examples of her work.

Once I noticed on her website that she had a Twitter account, I began following her. She doesn't post a lot, but often she will update her followers on what she is working on. Lately, she's been talking about old video games she found in a closet after not seeing them for quite some time. And she posts most often in late night or early morning. Seems she is a nightowl.

But I love her art. And I once I told her so. We communicated some via Twitter. She was very nice and I decided instead of just admiring her work, I should own some. On her website she had a few larger pieces (much larger than sketch cards), one of which was a nice color sketch of Catwoman. I am a huge fan of Batman and his rogue's gallery, and Catwoman is at the top of that list. She was offering the piece at what I considered a considerably inexpensive rate, so I snatched it up.

Catwoman by Danielle Soloud

When I received the package in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to see this on the back of the mailing envelope:

Catwoman envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

Over the course of 2010, I've collected a few more Danielle Soloud pieces.

5finity Mixtape Hula Girl by Danielle Soloud

This piece was pulled from a pack of 5finity's Mixtape sketch card series. I had ordered one pack and was very fortunate to pull this. Even better was that I had seen Danielle ink and color the sketch on her ustream artcast. I was fortunate enough to snag another Mixtape sketch Danielle did. This time it was a female vampire that she had received back as an Artist Exclusive sketch, so I made the purchase from Danielle directly.

5finity Mixtape Artist Exclusive Vampire by Danielle Soloud

And again, there was a nice surprise on the mailing envelope.

Vampire envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

I had purchased this card during the summer around the time that Danielle was set to release her first sketchbook called Va Va Boom volume one. Included in this package was copy #2 of 200 that included another catwoman sketch on the inside front cover:

Catwoman sketchbook sketch by Danielle Soloud

Having purchased a few sketches that had already been done, I decided that I wanted to commission Danielle to draw something of my choosing. I debated some of the Batman characters I loved so much, including Harley Quinn, Huntress, Batgirl, etc. But I decided to go a different route. One night during one of Danielle's artcasts, she was listening to 80s music and a Joan Jett tune had come on. We briefly talked about Joan, and it was from this conversation that I decided to ask Danielle to sketch her. And I have to say, when I received the final sketch, I was blown away. She had exceeded any expectation I had held. Look for yourself:

Joan Jett by Danielle Soloud

And, as I had become accustomed to, I received another sketch on the envelope:

Joan Jett envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

Lastly, but not leastly, Danielle also is the writer/artist on her own webcomic, Life with Death. It's the story of a the daughter of the Grim Reaper who has reached the age where she must begin to learn the family trade. It's a definite must read.

In preparation for this post, I decided to ask Danielle some questions to get a better idea who she is and what she's like. Here is what I learned:

1.) What got you into drawing?
I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I'm very lucky to have parents who are supportive of the arts.

2.) You mentioned that at one point in your life you moved from drawing to become a DJ. Why did you do that, and what brought you back to art?
Drawing just fell by the wayside as I spent all my time focusing on music. Although I did learn Photoshop in that time and a bit of graphic design for flyers and such. I decided to pursue art as a career only a couple years ago when I was unhappy with my life and decided to change it.

3.) How were you trained - school, self-taught, mentor, some divine gift? :-)
Ha! Although artists do have to have some degree of talent, it definitely needs to be nurtured. I'm mostly self-taught. When I was in elementary school I would try to draw like the cartoons I watched and video games I played. In middle school I got into anime and comic books and began to study them. About two years ago I did enroll into community college with the intent of transferring to an art school. I took all of my foundation courses and one day while sitting in math class thought to myself, "I should be drawing right now." Ultimately I decided against art school because I didn't think it was for me.

4.) Who do you look to for inspiration - in art? In life?
I try to be open to let anything and everything inspire me. A big inspiration for me though are movies.

5.) What was the first piece you were paid for?
I believe the first professional project I worked on was for Breygent. I wish I could say it was when I was in middle school and a kid asked me to draw a naked woman for him and he would pay me. I think I missed out on a huge financial opportunity there.

6.) Besides art, what are your interests? What do you like to do for fun? Favorite movie? Favorite TV show? Favorite musician/music? Favorite book? Favorite food?
My interests are movies, art, animation, comics, and video games pretty much. I adore movies so much that giving a favorite is a horribly tough question to answer! But I'd probably say Beetlejuice is if I had to absolutely pin down one. My current top favorite TV shows are It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaTrue Blood. Favorite band is AC/DC and my favorite music I listen to most would be surf rock, rockabilly, classic rock, electro and 80's, which is also what I listen to when I'm drawing. Music is definitely a huge inspiration. My favorite books are American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. And finally, the one thing I don't have to think twice about when it comes to favorites is my favorite food... BUFFALO WINGS!

7.) I think I also remember you saying that you are able to make a living solely on your art - at what point in your life were you able to do that and how did it feel to know that you could?
It's still a struggle and that's the risk you take when you decide to pursue art. I don't have a lot of overhead so it's not that hard for me right now. I'm also lucky to be blessed with a supportive and helpful family.

8.) I know you've done some work for Breygent and 5finity. How did you get involved with them? Have you been part of any other sketch card sets? Are there any you'd really like to be a part of or other companies you'd like to work with?
I found out about Breygent and 5finity from the Scoundrel forums, both of which I sent samples to and they liked them enough to give me work. I've also recently started work with Versicolor on their Bettie Page set, which I'm really looking forward to!

9.) Like many other artists, you've started a ustream video channel for live artcasts - do you think this affects your process at all? Does it help? It's great for fans and fellow artists to be able to talk to you during the process, is the benefit mutual?
It does affect my process in a few ways that is both positive and negative. It's positive because you can get instant feed back and you're bringing people into your process which can be interesting. It forces me to sit there and finish a piece from start to finish since I'm broadcasting I can't just get up and start watching TV or something. Also, it's fun to have people to hang out with and chat while working. Although the downside is I take longer to do what I'm doing with the looking up at the screen and chatting (I work slower when I'm talking). Also with the camera set up I have it's sometimes awkward. Overall I think it's a great thing to do!

10.) What were you like as a child? Are you originally from orlando?
I think I was a lot like I am now. I was very chatty and always drawing and coming up with stories. I got in trouble often for disturbing other students as I would finish my work fast so I could chat with them. Yes, I am from Orlando - born and raised.

11.) What is your favorite thing in the whole world?
This was probably the most difficult question you've asked... I guess I would say my computer for now!

12.) What was the worst job you ever had?
Telemarketer for time-shares by far.

13.) What advice would you give a person wanting to become an artist?
Draw constantly and then draw some more. Be determined, don't give up, have thick-skin and accept criticism - don't take it personally. Be willing to show your art to others and post it on the internet for others to see and provide feedback. Also, I can't recommend the book Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orlando enough. I'd say it's just about absolutely necessary to read.

14.) What is your favorite thing to draw? You previously told me "girls!", but do you have something more specific? :-)
It IS girls! I love drawing curves. (note: if you view her portfolio on her website, you'll see that she does, indeed, love drawing girls. And she is very, VERY good at it.)

15.) What's the story behind your last name? I mean, it's not your given name, right?
No, "Soloud" is not actually my last name. It comes from when I was a DJ. Originally I spun under the name 'DJ Sunny D" but came to find out there were about three other people who also used that name. So I changed it to 'Danielle Soloud', which makes a lot more sense when you're a DJ! Many people got used to that and already knew me as that name so when I started drawing again I just kept using it!

So, check out Danielle's website and commission her for some work. You won't be disappointed.

Hack/Slash (5finity) - Pack Breaks

I've said before how much I really like the products 5finity produces, and when I had heard they would be producing a set based on the comic book Hack/Slash, I was very excited. And that was a set I was really looking forward to.

The series promised at least one sketch per pack with 1,750 packs produced.



Last week, I received 10 packs and the results did NOT let me down. This is by far the best I've done with any product purchased for the sketch cards. The number by each artist's name is the number of sketches that particular artist did for the set.

Brent Schoonover - 20

Unknown Artist

Unknown Artist

Scott D.M. Simmons - 40

Nathan Stockman - 25

Luis Diaz - 40

Lak Lim - 40

Kelly Everaert - 4 (Rare)

Jon Riggle - 40

Amber Shelton - 16

The best part of my pulls was that I received art from 10 artists whose art I did not already own. And while my favorite is the Jon Riggle sketch, I was very excited to get a Kelly Everaert because of its scarcity.

Along with the Everaert Rare card, I also received a double-sketch pack. Included on one pack with the Hack/Slash sketch was a sketch from the Honey West set, a set that I had missed out on upon its release. And it is a very beautiful card.

Paul Allen Ballard

Next up for 5finity is Lady Death...

Dexter Season 3 Preview (Breygent Marketing)

I previously talked about how I got back into the hobby of non-sport trading cards (part 1 | part 2), but what I have to talk about is my one true regret in my return to the hobby.

Last summer, after the joys of the Veronica Mars, Dexter Season 1 & 2, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sets, I was convinced by my nephew to return to Mid-Ohio Con for a second-consecutive year. We had not been planning to go again; I had been spending money on the cards. But he talked me into it by convincing me that we could drive up and back in one day. Mid-Ohio Con is not a huge show and one day is enough time to see everything, although the opportunity for commissioning art was reduced. So, I agreed. But I needed cash. And because I had just gotten back into the hobby, I wasn't fully committed to it yet (and certainly not as much as I am now). As a result, I thought I knew where I could get some capital for the trip: sell those cards.

And that's what I did. I sold all the cards I had from those three sets. That was my biggest regret in the hobby by far, especially since I had pulled a Michael C. Hall autograph from the first box of Dexter cards I had purchased. But that money went to me having a great weekend with my nephew, and I found some crazy deals on trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

I still wish I had those cards, though.

So, I was very, very excited to hear that Breygent Marketing would be producing a set for Dexter Season 3. Then the images started to appear of cards that would be included in the SDCC Mystery Packs sold at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. I was impressed. With a small sample of cards produced for those packs, I thought Breygent had exceeded what they had done with the previous set. I purchased a few of these packs and pulled a number of Dexter cards. Not all of the ones available, mind you, but a nice share of them, including a Jimmy Smits autograph.

Then I saw the cards that would be inserted in the Season 3 set. And my interest went beyond excitement.

Once one of my favorite dealers made them available, I ordered a case. I couldn't help it. I knew if I didn't, I would regret it. And I was done with regrets concerning Dexter cards. According to Tom at Breygent, there will be 3 hits per box, which could be sketch, prop, costume and/or autograph cards. The details:

72 Card Base Set

Trivia Chase Set
Quotes Chase Set
Puzzle Chase Set

29 Costume cards

• 27 Dual Costume cards
• 1 Quad Costume card
• 1 Eight Piece costume card

11 prop cards
9 Autograph cards

• Michael C. Hall
• Jennifer Carpenter
• James Remar
• Jimmy Smits
• And others TBA

2 Metallogloss case cards
1 Sketch card per case

Sketch artists

• Tim Shay
• Brian Kong
• Len Bellinger
• Jason Carrier
• David Desbois
• Steven Miller
• Trev Murphy

1 2-Case Incentive 7-Swatch Costume Card

Case is 12 boxes at 24 packs per box
3 hits per box ONLY 250 CASES BEING MADE

So, there will be 36 hits per case. Tom posted images of the cards over on the Non-Sport Update Magazine Card Talk Forum. There are 29 costume cards: 23 are dual costumes of the same character, 4 are dual costumes of different characters, 1 is an 8-swatch costume card of 8 different characters and 1 is a quad costume of 4 different characters. There are 11 prop cards and 9 autograph cards. There are 3 autograph-only cards (Michael C. Hall, Jimmy Smits and James Remar). There is 1 dual autograph-only card (Michael C. Hall and Jimmy Smits). And there are 5 autographed costume cards (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, C.S. Lee and Desmond Harrington).

With 36 hits per case, it is not unreasonable to think that (barring doubles) one could be well on their way to a master set in one case. But it is not possible to get one in a single case. As a result, I'm tempted to order a second case to increase my chances, but I may have to just wait and pick them up through purchases and trades. However, no matter how, I am determined for this to be my first master set.

These cards are beautiful and Breygent is raising the bar with the multiple-swatch costume cards. I am sure there is no way I'm going to be disappointed in this set, but I can't deny that I am extremely anxious to get my case. With teases that it would be coming throughout the year, it finally is set to release on October 28. My plea to Tom at Breygent: please don't delay it again...

Rippin' and Flippin' / Packs vs. Boxes

There is an interesting conversation happening in the non-sport trading card community concerning a new trend toward companies selling trading card packs with guaranteed hits (inclusion of premium insert cards) versus selling boxes with the same guarantees. For more in this, check out the forum over at Non-Sport Update Magazine's message board CardTalk.

While I definitely want to touch on this topic, I think I should spend a few moments on the practice of "ripping and flipping," a phrase I only learned recently. "Ripping and flipping" refers to the practice of opening lots and lots of product and then turning around and selling the individual cards, preferably for a premium over what was paid for the original product. It's comparable to buying an old house, fixing it up and then selling it for more than you paid. And any search on e-Bay for non-sport cards (and sport cards, I'm sure) issued in the past few years or so will give evidence that this is done a lot. Frankly, I have to admit I sort of did this last summer when I opened a lot of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Dexter boxes before selling them all off a month or so later, but the difference there was that I was raising funds to attend Mid-Ohio Con. And now I regret getting rid of those cards.

After that convention, my interest in non-sport cards increased and since then I have opened quite a bit of different products. I need to digress a bit to say, when I was a kid, I collected lots of different cards (all of which I unfortunately don't have any more) from Pac-Man to Star Wars. But back then (late '70s, early 80s) there were not many (if any) incentives to purchase these cards other than for the sake of collecting the base sets. And it was a lot of fun to meet with friends so I could get rid of my doubles in exchange for the cards I didn't have. Of course, there was no Internet then, either, so I relied on this group of friends for filling out sets.

However, it seems the non-sport products have moved well beyond focusing on base sets. Now it's as if a set must almost guarantee autographs, sketch cards, costume and prop cards, and other incentives to drum up interest. I have no doubt this is why many, many collectors are buying these products - for the premiums. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't mostly true for me. I really dig autos, but I love costumes/props and sketches more than the base cards. And while many companies are doing this, a few are doing it much better than others.

Ripping and Flipping

Because the premium inserts are what collectors seem to be going after the most and certain inserts are in greater quantity than others, dealers and collectors alike learned they could open a lot of product, pluck out the best inserts, resell them on e-Bay and make a higher profit than what they would have made had they simply sold the product unopened.

When I got into the hobby in 2009, it didn't take me long to see how this was working. Again, search e-Bay, and you'll see what I'm talking about. But I get it. I do. There are, however, a couple of reasons I have a problem with it.

1. It takes some of the fun out of collecting. I like the gamble of opening a product not knowing what I'm going to get. Say that I know there is a chance, however small, that in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince product I can get a card autographed by Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe. If I really, really want that card, I can definitely find one on e-Bay, but I better be prepared to pay top dollar, sometimes almost as much as a whole case. If that's the only card I want out of the set, then paying that price for it may not be a problem. For me, though, I have enough interest in the other premium inserts that I'd rather buy multiple boxes with the probability of getting a couple of autographs, costumes and props, and a base set, than throwing all my money into a single card. And the gamble might pay off with pulling a top auto myself, though that chance is diminished because some of those cards have already been pulled and immediately placed on e-Bay. By "ripping and flipping," these folks are reducing my chances thus reducing some of my fun.
2. It reduces the amount of unopened product available for me to purchase. Yes, I know, there are usually more than enough dealers selling more than enough product for everyone interested. The manufacturer may sell out, but you can normally find someone with some of it for sale. Sometimes, though, the product is so limited that no unopened product is available. An example of this phenomenon is 5finity. This company began selling packs with at least one sketch card per pack guaranteed. It contained no base cards, just the sketch. For those of us who like sketch cards, this was great, especially because packs were priced far below the cost of what a box of cards runs. When they were released, 5finity's packs for The Pro were nearly impossible to find (luckily, I had preordered a few packs from a dealer), but not a week later, a large number of the sketches found their way onto e-Bay, mostly priced above the pack price and often priced much, much higher. As of today (August 11, 2010), there are more than 150 listings for The Pro sketch cards, out of an original run of just 800 packs. Instead of sitting on all of these sketches that they may never sell or may sit on for a long time, these folks could have made money by selling me and others some of the packs unopened for suggested retail.

Obviously, it also provides benefits for the collector.

1. It helps fill out hard to complete insert sets. When I was a kid, I often could get the cards I needed from friends. Nowadays, most of my friends don't collect, so I have to seek out other opportunities for securing the cards I need/want. The Internet has been a great help in this. The Non-Sport Update Magazine's forum Card Talk offers a trading area where non-sport collectors can seek out others to help fill holes in a set. I recently used it for the first time with fabulous success. And of course, folks who are "ripping and flipping" to sell on e-Bay are providing a service. Say I need a particular prop card to complete my master set or I just think it is so cool that I want it for my collection. Thanks to card company information or other collectors, I know there were only 200 made of this particular card. If the product is limited to 3000 boxes (300 10-box cases), I don't have a great chance of getting that card simply by purchasing unopened product. However, Non-Sport Dealer pulled one (thanks to him/her opening multiple cases) and has put it on e-Bay. If I really, really want it, I might be willing to pay the price he/she is asking, and thus able to complete my set.
2. If you're just a base set collector, there's no cheaper way to collect. When folks "rip and flip" boxes/cases of cards for the premiums, they are left with the excess base cards. Depending on the size of the base set, you often can get around 2 base sets from a box. Say a base set is 60 cards. If there are 24 packs per box with 7 cards per pack, a box will roughly yield about 140 base cards. If a case has 10 boxes (some companies provide 12 per case, some provide only 8), the yield will be about 1,400 cards which could feasibly produce 23 base sets. If a dealer opens more than one case, well... you see what I'm getting at - tons of base sets. Since they are "ripping and flipping" to make profit off the premium card, they can offer those base sets for bargain-basement prices. I have seen many a set for less than $5 each. If that's all you, as the collector, want, then there is really no cheaper way to get it. Much better than buying a box for $60 just to get a set of 60 cards.

Packs vs. Boxes

The first pack I recall that guaranteed a premium card was Razor's Ink autograph line. When Inkworks folded, Razor scooped up much of their inventory of leftover autographed cards from their many television and movie product lines. Razor then packaged many of these autographed in sturdy card holders, with one per pack and 5 packs per box. That's it. By buying a box, you were guaranteed 5 authentic autographed cards, and at around $80 a box, that put the purchase price per auto at $16 each. Not bad for a guaranteed autographed card, especially if you are an autograph collector. However, Razor glutted the market with two more subsequent products that included autographs and now many (most?) of these autos do not sell for that original $16 price. Of course, that a different story for another day.

As mentioned, 5finity helped get the sketch pack concept rolling. By buying a sketch pack, a collector is guaranteed one sketch card, typically ranging in price from $20-$30 retail. There are no other cards. None. And you aren't paying for bunches of extra cards, like you would by purchasing a box of say, Marvel 70th from Rittenhouse. (I dug these cards, by the way. This is not a knock on Rittenhouse.) From that box or multiple boxes, you would have lots and lots of base cards, maybe a complete set of the 1 or 2 insert sets and a sketch from each box, which you paid $50-$70 per box.

Other companies have gotten into the sketch-per pack game (Sadlittles and Breygent, to name a couple), but it is Breygent who is taking it a step further and becoming a game-changer in the world of non-sport trading cards, all the while creating some interesting conversation within the non-sport community. As mentioned above, there is a thread devoted to the topic on the Non-Sport Update forum CardTalk, and trading card blogger Ryan Cracknell (aka @tradercracks on Twitter) posted about this very topic a few days ago.

Earlier this year, Breygent entered the sketch-pack fold with two sets: Golden Age of Comics and Cartoon Sketch. Each pack, available around the $20-$30 price-point, guaranteed one sketch card. But what Breygent did that 5finity did not was provide a little extra. Each pack of both sets included one promo card for the set. The Cartoon Sketch packs included a "metallogloss" card, a thick card with a glossy coating. The card itself is a reproduction of one of the sketch cards found in the set. There were 13 "metallogloss" cards and 9 different promos to collect. The Golden Age of Comics packs included a regular base card instead of a "metallogloss" card, but it, too, was a reproduction of a sketch card in the set. This base set was made up of 40 cards.

So, what we are seeing here (besides the fact that you receive a premium card in every pack) is that in order to make a base set, a collector must do one of three things:

1. buy at least 40 packs
2. buy a smaller number of packs and trade for the handful of base cards needed to complete the set
3. buy a couple of packs and try to find a complete base set on e-Bay (or some other site)

More importantly, the base set becomes more collectible and worth something, which, in my opinion (though I'm not necessarily a base-set collector) is good for the hobby. I'm sure others disagree.

Breygent also isn't settling for just sketch cards as premiums. They have announced two future sets that will include other premiums like autographs, costumes/props and film cells. Now available is a pack-only product based on the film Paranormal Activity. Each pack will contain 9 cards:

• 2 autograph, costume or film cell cards
• 5 base cards (from a set of 50)
• 1 Portents of Evil chase card (set of 9)
• 1 David Desbois Puzzle card (set of 9)

Also appearing in a pack format will be a set based on the television show The Tudors. 

Again, base sets are going to be difficult to come by (one of which is listed on e-Bay today for $22.50, much more than what base sets from box products go for). But doesn't that bring the trading back into trading cards?

I have to admit, I really love this concept. I don't need nor necessarily desire base sets. For some properties they interest me (Dexter, Harry Potter) and for some they don't (Batman Archives, Paranormal Activity). While I wouldn't buy a box of Paranormal Activity cards, I just might plunk down some change for a couple packs of them. Yet, while I will most definitely invest in multiple boxes of Dexter and Harry Potter, I certainly wouldn't be adverse to buying those in the pack format as well. And as a collector, I would be open to buying multiple packs of those.

It has been discussed that by going to pack-only product, manufacturers could save money in production costs by printing significantly fewer base cards (which also, some say, would be a greener way to go, as well). This money could be funneled back in to making the premium cards better somehow (surely the sky's the limit in that regard). But what does it really mean financially for the collector?

Let's take the latest product from Artbox Entertainment, Harry Potter: Heroes and Villains. On average, a box contains 2 premium hits (there are 19 per case) which could be autographs, costume cards (some dual costumes) or props. Also included in a box is 1 box topper card and each case includes one case topper card. In the past, the box and case toppers have been metal cards, widevision lenticular cards, wooden cards and crystal engraved cards. So, let's count the case topper as another premium card, since with only 3000 boxes produced there are only 300 cases (10 boxes per case) and thus only 300 case toppers divided by 3 different case toppers, so probably just 100 of each different one. That makes 20 premiums per case.

If I buy a case, I will spend between $500 and $600 (depending on the vendor), so let's say $550. Looking at just the premium cards I should receive from this box, I will pay around $27.50 per card. If I factor in say 1 base set per box at a value of $5 per set for $50 and two box topper sets at $10 per set for $20, then I will be paying $24 for each premium card.

This is about what I will pay for any of the pack-only products now available, and the Paranormal Activity product is giving me 2 hits per pack, which means I'm only paying about $12-$15 per premium card. It is apparent that these pack-only products have exceptional value without all the excess.

For the dealer, it provides exceptional value, too. One dealer posted on CardTalk that it would benefit him because with the lower price point he can have more volume.

Another issue being brought up is packaging. Often a prop card can be thicker/heavier than an autograph or costume card and thus unscrupulous folks can search through packs this way before selling if the packaging is just a simple envelope or normal pack wrap. Of course this is still a young development, so things could change, but I think that there could be some type of packaging like a small box not much larger than a normal pack that would not allow anyone the ability to gauge the thickness of the enclosed card(s) and handpick. That doesn't really solve the problem of weight differences, but maybe it would just come down to buying from a reputable dealer, which we all should be doing anyway. I believe packaging will be something we see change over time.


Now What?

So what does this all mean for the hobby? I think it means great, great things. It's just another innovative way to get the cards that collector's want into their hands while making base sets more collectible. I think it enhances the fun for the collector to know that when s/he opens that pack it will contain a premium card and it will cost him/her no more than or less than the same cards obtained through the purchase of boxes or cases. I also think it allows manufacturers to focus on the cards collectors really want and thus provide them with better quality premium cards.

In my mind, it's a win-win situation. And I like it.

San Diego Comic-Con Mystery (Breygent Marketing) - Pack Breaks

When I first learned of the special Mystery Packs being planned for San Diego Comic-Con by Breygent Marketing, I knew I had to get my hand on these packs. At first it was unclear how available these would be, but before SDCC, Tom at Breygent assured collectors that the packs also would be made available after SDCC.

Breygent had already seen some success with their Cartoon and Golden Age of Comics Sketch Packs, and now they were moving into the television and movie arena with pack-only sales. (Please check back to this blog for a future post about pack-only versus box trading card sales.)

My interest mainly lay in the inclusion of Dexter Season 3 trading cards into the set. So, in the hopes I would be lucky enough to snag one or more, I purchased three of the regular 3.5"x2.5"-sized packs. But as you are probably aware if you have been reading this blog, I also am an art fan and love the sketch cards. So, I decided to take a shot on one 5"x7" sketch pack.

Collectors were told that the sketch packs would include one sketch from the following possible sets: Cartoon Sketch, Golden Age of Comics, Sci-fi Horror Posters and Woodstock Generation Rock Poster cards. Truth-be-told, I was really hoping for a Sci-fi Horror Poster sketch. I'm a movie buff, have taken some screenwriting/film production classes, write scripts as often as I can and work part-time in a movie theatre so I can see as many films as possible for free. I even have an ever-growing collection of movie posters. So, you can see my interest in that particular set.

When I received the packs, I could tell right away that I had one metallo-gloss card in the Mystery Packs, as these are noticably thicker and heavier than the other cards. Because the Mystery Packs held the greatest possible reward (in my opinion), I decided to open the 5"x7" sketch pack first.

Breygent Marketing 5"x7" Mystery Sketch Pack

Truthfully, I've yet to be disappointed by a sketch from a Breygent product (unlike other companies). And this card left me feeling no different. In the pack was one sketch card in a sturdy top-loader and one promo card for an upcoming set. I received this beauty by Tim Shay, who has done a number of cards for other Breygent products. I have never heard of the film The Green Slime, but the image looks so crazy, I might have to check it out. Also included was a promo card, showing the movie poster for Night of the Living Dead.

Sci-fi Poster Series sketch by Tim Shay

Sci-fi/Horror Poster Series Promo Card

Next up were the Comic-Con Mystery Packs.

Breygent Marketing San Diego Comic-Con Mystery Pack

I knew that the metallo-gloss card was probably a costume card from one of the television series or movies included in the product, I decided to open the thicker/heavier pack first. When I pulled it out of the pack, I saw the promo for Dexter Season 3 first, so I knew the card was one of the Dexter ones. So far, two out of two. The card itself was #D3, a piece of wardrobe worn by Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan. Because these cards are much thicker and heavier, I thought the square through which the cloth is visible would be covered in the same covering of the remainder of the card; however, Breygent did the best thing by having that square uncovered so the fabric is open to the touch.

Dexter Season 3 Promo Card

Dexter Season 3 SDCC Metallo-gloss Costume Card

With two packs left, there were no noticeable differences so I just opened one at random. For the past few months I have begun collecting art that I commission from artists I talk to on Twitter and others whose work I admire. Beck Kramer has become one of my favorite artists, but I have yet to commission her for whatever reasons. However, I can't wait to own a piece of art she does especially for me. Because of this I was mightily surprised when, after pulling the card out of the pack and setting the below promo card to the side, I saw her name written on the back of a sketch card from the Cartoon series. On the other side was an adorable sketch of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Cartoon Sketch Series Promo Card

Cartoon Sketch Series Casper the Friendly Ghost Sketch
by Beck Kramer

Three packs in and I had received a great Sci-fi poster sketch, a Dexter costume card and a Cartoon sketch from one of my favorite artists. I figured the fourth and final pack, another regular-sized Mystery pack, would probably be a dud (although, seeing what is being pulled from these packs makes it difficult to think there are any duds). So, I opened it up and pulled out the cards, seeing first another promo for Dexter. At this point, it didn't matter what the card was, I was four-for-four since the Dexter cards were the ones I was truly interested in. When I flipped it over, this is what I saw:

Dexter Season 3 SDCC Jimmy Smits Autograph Card

Really, there is only one Dexter card in this set better than the Jimmy Smits autograph card, and that is the Michael C. Hall autograph card. I was very excited with this pull; well, I was very excited about all the pulls.

Another thing worth noting is the identification of the packs and cards as being SDCC cards. The Mystery Packs have the SDCC logo on the front, while the 5"x7" sketch pack does not. The Jimmy Smits autograph card has the SDCC logo printed on the back of the card, but the metallo-gloss, the Cartoon sketch and the Sci-fi sketch do not. I believe that the metallo-gloss Dexter cards are going to be limited to the SDCC packs, so there should be no confusion there; however, the two sketch cards may not be limited to the SDCC packs. Because the sketch cards are possibly ones that were to be included in their respective sets, they did not have the SDCC printed on them. But they did have a small logo sticker applied to the back. Here is a scan of the one that was on the back of the Cartoon sketch card and is just like the one on the back of the Sci-fi sketch card:

SDCC logo sticker

I had really, really hoped that I would get my hands on some of these packs, and once I did, Breygent did not let me down. I am so pleased with these cards, I have ordered some more that should get here this week. Breygent is doing right by the collecter with these new pack-only sets and are coming up with some very innovative cards, as well.

Can't wait to get the next batch of packs.